Shooting Project #4: Street Photography

PHD101

Introduction to Photography & Design

Shooting Project#4: Street Photography

Due Week 6, after Lab period

Part I:  Street Portraits

Breaking the Ice:  Photojournalists must engage, on a daily basis, with people they’ve never met before and feel comfortable photographing them and asking them questions.  Although many of their subjects are doing “newsworthy” things and may be accustomed to media attention, others are average citizens. 

 

Assignment Objectives:  This assignment has multiple objectives:  

·       Create portraits that convey a subject’s personality

·       Think more about visual communication and how to reveal something about your subject using photographic language (light, composition, symbolic elements in the frame).

·       Interact with subjects and collect basic caption information – who, what, when, where, why (5 Ws)

·       Confront the fear of photographing strangers and dealing with possible rejection!

For Part I of this assignment, find and approach at least 10 people you’ve never met before, explain who you are and what you’re doing, and ask to photograph them.  Make multiple portraits of each of your subjects, using the environment, quality of light, and your perspective on the subject to convey something about them.

You may want to choose a unifying theme for your portraits such as city workers or dog owners.  This isn’t necessary, but could give you an interesting essay and a good opening line to approach your subjects (“I’m doing a project on dog owners…”).

Collect caption information covering the 5 Ws by posing some basic questions to your subject.  You may choose to ask them about a current event or something specific to the environment in which you find them. 

Tips: 

·       Wear your student ID

·       approach with a partner

·       explain your intentions

·       look for receptive and friendly subjects

·       look for subjects working in public or interacting with the public

·       find one business or location and stay there

·       offer to email a portrait to your subject,

·       compliment your subject, make eye contact and smile

·       take some time to converse with and engage your subject before taking out your camera

Part II: Street Scenes

Instead of approaching subjects as you did in Part I, become a silent observer and look for interesting moments of honest emotion and interaction (components of all strong photojournalistic images).  Shoot at least 50 photos of street scenes with human interest.  Watch more clips from “Everybody Street” to inspire you, or check out the work on http://www.street-photographers.com/. 

Some street photographers are confrontational, some are quiet, some find a spot and wait for the moment to come to them, and others go hunting around a location, never staying still.  Shoot in the style that feels most comfortable and genuine to you.

Tips: 

·       Don’t try to be too sneaky – if someone catches you looking, smile, make eye contact, and look non-threatening

·       Don’t be timid

·       Carry your camera as much as possible over the course of the week

·       Carry your camera at your side and raise it up only when you’re ready to shoot

·       Scout locations where there are a lot of people interacting

·       Get your camera set for the light before your start shooting

·       Don’t go too far beyond your comfort zone and stay observant of your surroundings (bring a friend or partner if it makes you feel more at ease)

·       When photographing kids, ask first if their parents are around

·       Go to an event, festival, or tourist attraction where lots of people are out with their cameras

Due Week 6:  This time, you’ll submit a contact sheet of 75-100 photos (Part I & II combined).  You’ll choose your 5 best street portraits and 5 best street scenes to resize, rename, add metadata to, and submit for critique.  For the street portraits, you’ll also be required to add the 5 Ws to your caption field in your metadata.

Grading

All shooting projects are worth 30 points and are graded according to the following criteria:

·       Image management (following assignment specifications outlined during lab period)

·       Creativity of approach to concept (effort and thought demonstrated)

·       Visual impact (use of photographic seeing, basic mastery of technique)